their first classes.
Fully prepared for this, the Upper and Lower Sixth girls line up in the hallway.
All but one, that is.
“What’s going on?” Rylie whispers to Gabby.
“A kiss goodbye.” Gabby blows her a smacker, grinning like a clown.
Confused, Rylie ends up at the back of the line and watches as Carriveau swings open the front door and proceeds to inspect the uniforms and appearances of all the girls before letting them leave the house, one at a time.
Upon passing inspection, she gives each a kiss on the forehead and sends them on their way. When she gets to Rylie, the last card in the deck, she’s pleased to find that all earlier wardrobe malfunctions have been corrected. Ready to bid her goodbye, she leans in for the standard kiss … but Rylie preempts her.
“Are you all right, Miss?”
“What? Since you molested me in the kitchen?” Carriveau chuckles. “I’ll survive.” She extends her hands in the motion of cupping Rylie’s cheeks, but holds only the air. “Now, you pass muster, so do you want a kiss from me, or not? I do so only with your permission. You have every right to refuse.”
Rylie dips her head, presenting her forehead for Carriveau’s lips.
Like last night, the kiss is innocent and fleeting. Carriveau is about to pull away, but Rylie leans forward and draws her into a hug—or tries to. Carriveau seizes Rylie’s arms before they manage to wrap all the way around her neck, and she brings the attempted closeness to an abrupt and premature end.
“Let’s not get carried away.” She keeps hold of Rylie’s hands, kissing her fingers. “Think of me like a rainbow,” she suggests. “Nice to look at, but always out of reach. Tu comprends ?”
Suitably rebuffed, Rylie nods.
“ Merci, ma chère .” Carriveau kisses her forehead again. “Off you go now. Don’t be late for your first registration!”
She hurries Rylie out of the house, sending her to join Gabby, who’s been waiting for her at the end of the small front garden. She waves the pair off, staying there by the door until Miss Ansell appears at her shoulder.
“Be careful with that one,” she warns.
“She just needs to find her way here, that’s all.” Carriveau turns away, her smile dissolving, Miss Ansell’s unwelcome advice stripping her good mood again. “She’ll manage.” The downcast Housemistress heads for her study. “As will I.”
CHAPTER SIX
The school bell screeches three times in quick succession, heralding morning break. That’s fifteen minutes between classes, in which time you can organize your notes for the next lesson, quickly grab a book from the library, or sneak a cigarette behind the indoor swimming pool at the south end of the campus.
“I owe you.” Rylie crouches against the red brick wall, sucking on the first cigarette she’s had in weeks. “I’ll pay you back as soon as my parents send me my allowance.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Gabby taps ash onto the ground. “My brother sneaks me in two packs a week, and he’s never asked for a penny. I reckon he’s nicking ‘em from somewhere.”
“What else can he get?”
“What else do you want?”
Rylie shrugs. “How do you get booze around here?”
When Gabby laughs, she snorts smoke through her nostrils. “I like your thinking.” She crushes the butt of her cigarette into the dirt. “Come on, let’s go. I’ve got the mid-morning munchies.”
Rylie takes one more puff, flicks the end of her cigarette into a bush, grabs her backpack off the ground, and follows Gabby back to the main school building. On the way, they cut through a small courtyard between the swimming pool and the covered tennis courts, passing a modern art sculpture at its center.
The imposing metal artwork is over eight feet high and comprised of two sets of three metal spirals. They start from narrow points at the top, gradually widening as they twirl toward the ground, and there are three distinct ribbons entwined in
Fully prepared for this, the Upper and Lower Sixth girls line up in the hallway.
All but one, that is.
“What’s going on?” Rylie whispers to Gabby.
“A kiss goodbye.” Gabby blows her a smacker, grinning like a clown.
Confused, Rylie ends up at the back of the line and watches as Carriveau swings open the front door and proceeds to inspect the uniforms and appearances of all the girls before letting them leave the house, one at a time.
Upon passing inspection, she gives each a kiss on the forehead and sends them on their way. When she gets to Rylie, the last card in the deck, she’s pleased to find that all earlier wardrobe malfunctions have been corrected. Ready to bid her goodbye, she leans in for the standard kiss … but Rylie preempts her.
“Are you all right, Miss?”
“What? Since you molested me in the kitchen?” Carriveau chuckles. “I’ll survive.” She extends her hands in the motion of cupping Rylie’s cheeks, but holds only the air. “Now, you pass muster, so do you want a kiss from me, or not? I do so only with your permission. You have every right to refuse.”
Rylie dips her head, presenting her forehead for Carriveau’s lips.
Like last night, the kiss is innocent and fleeting. Carriveau is about to pull away, but Rylie leans forward and draws her into a hug—or tries to. Carriveau seizes Rylie’s arms before they manage to wrap all the way around her neck, and she brings the attempted closeness to an abrupt and premature end.
“Let’s not get carried away.” She keeps hold of Rylie’s hands, kissing her fingers. “Think of me like a rainbow,” she suggests. “Nice to look at, but always out of reach. Tu comprends ?”
Suitably rebuffed, Rylie nods.
“ Merci, ma chère .” Carriveau kisses her forehead again. “Off you go now. Don’t be late for your first registration!”
She hurries Rylie out of the house, sending her to join Gabby, who’s been waiting for her at the end of the small front garden. She waves the pair off, staying there by the door until Miss Ansell appears at her shoulder.
“Be careful with that one,” she warns.
“She just needs to find her way here, that’s all.” Carriveau turns away, her smile dissolving, Miss Ansell’s unwelcome advice stripping her good mood again. “She’ll manage.” The downcast Housemistress heads for her study. “As will I.”
CHAPTER SIX
The school bell screeches three times in quick succession, heralding morning break. That’s fifteen minutes between classes, in which time you can organize your notes for the next lesson, quickly grab a book from the library, or sneak a cigarette behind the indoor swimming pool at the south end of the campus.
“I owe you.” Rylie crouches against the red brick wall, sucking on the first cigarette she’s had in weeks. “I’ll pay you back as soon as my parents send me my allowance.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Gabby taps ash onto the ground. “My brother sneaks me in two packs a week, and he’s never asked for a penny. I reckon he’s nicking ‘em from somewhere.”
“What else can he get?”
“What else do you want?”
Rylie shrugs. “How do you get booze around here?”
When Gabby laughs, she snorts smoke through her nostrils. “I like your thinking.” She crushes the butt of her cigarette into the dirt. “Come on, let’s go. I’ve got the mid-morning munchies.”
Rylie takes one more puff, flicks the end of her cigarette into a bush, grabs her backpack off the ground, and follows Gabby back to the main school building. On the way, they cut through a small courtyard between the swimming pool and the covered tennis courts, passing a modern art sculpture at its center.
The imposing metal artwork is over eight feet high and comprised of two sets of three metal spirals. They start from narrow points at the top, gradually widening as they twirl toward the ground, and there are three distinct ribbons entwined in
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